1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a secondary battery discharge adaptor and more particularly to a discharge adaptor used for completely discharging ni-cad and other similar secondary batteries designed for repeated usage (referred to hereafter simply as "batteries") prior to recharging of the batteries.
2. Description of Related Art
Ni-cad and similar secondary batteries are widely used as power sources for battery-operated machines, generally because they can be used repeatedly through recharging. This type of battery has its charge-carrying capacity diminished when regularly recharged without first being fully discharged, known as "the memory effect." This type of battery is also not rechargeable to 100% capacity after prolonged periods of neglect or non-use. This is known as, "deactivation."
Currently, in order to solve the problems of the memory effect and of deactivation, devices are being marketed which first fully discharge the batteries prior to recharging and then recharge them.
However, although problems such as the memory effect and deactivation can be avoided if one has a recharging unit which recharges only after completely discharging the batteries, as described above, these problems cannot be solved if the recharging unit a purchaser or user already has is not equipped with these functions, and purchasing a new recharging unit having a discharging function brings the inconvenience of an additional, large financial burden.
As an alternative solution to the problems mentioned above, there are adaptors available which connect an appropriate load to the batteries and discharge the remaining charge, but these only discharge the batteries, and are inconvenient because the batteries must be connected to the recharging unit after discharging is completed.